Indiana Attorney General files lawsuit against VIM Recycling in Elkhart

December 21, 2009|Tribune Staff Report

ELKHART — Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller has filed a lawsuit against VIM Recycling Inc. and has asked the court to require the company to cease its open dumping of wood waste and to remove waste materials and debris. Zoeller seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions and civil penalties against VIM after an inspection last week found multiple violations at the company’s wood-recycling operation at 29861 Old U.S. 33. The complaint filed in Elkhart County Superior Court today alleges VIM has continued to haul in and deposit "B-grade" solid waste — scraps and pieces of treated wood from mobile-home manufacturing waste — onto the site in violation of the state’s laws against open dumping, polluting or creating fire hazards, according to a news release. The suit alleges VIM Recycling engaged in a pattern of noncompliance with directives of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. VIM’s actions could damage the public health and environment, the suit alleges. Given the history of environmental and other violations by VIM Recycling, the recent illegal dumping was the last straw, the attorney general said. "This company has been given multiple opportunities by the State of Indiana," Zoeller said. "They’ve just run out of second chances." For more about this story, see Tuesday’s South Bend Tribune.